


Frostbite

by MusicPrincess655



Series: A Collection of Solangelo [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Arguing, Battle, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Quests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 19:01:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4576107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicPrincess655/pseuds/MusicPrincess655
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Will and Nico go on a quest, and cuteness and general hilarity will ensue. Contains boyxboy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sending Will and Nico on a quest! Is rated mature for a reason. I don't own BoO.

Nico was walking towards the oracle's cave to see Rachel. Strangely enough, he had become pretty good friends with her ever since Will had pulled him out of his shell. Something about her wry sense of humor and the way she saw the world drew him to her.

"Nico!" Rachel called, walking out of the cave. "How've you been?"

"Fine," he replied. "How's the cave?"

They talked about the cave almost as if it was a person. It had become a running joke between them.

"She's angry today," Rachel laughed. "Wind's been whistling through the stalactites all day. I'm starting to worry that the future's going to come assault me soon."

"Well, let's hope it holds off," Nico said. It had been two years since the war with Gaea, and Rachel had had only a few visions since then, all mostly harmless. It made him a little nervous, thinking that something else could come up, even though based on Greek mythology, they were probably in the clear. "Here, do you want to sit? Rachel?"

But Rachel had frozen in place, a green mist surrounding her.

"Oh no," Nico thought. "Please, let it be something minor."

One of dark and one of light

Will go north to the icy fight

The goddess scorned to end in pain

And first material then to gain

"Rachel?" Nico asked nervously. He had caught her when she started to fall. "What was that?"

"Another freaking prophecy," Rachel grumbled. "Let's go see Chiron. He needs to hear this."

Chiron listened in absorbed silence as Nico repeated the words of Rachel's prophecy.

"Call the cabin heads," Chiron said. "We need to have a meeting. Now."

"What is it?" Nico asked. Something about Chiron's voice worried him. The centaur seemed almost…scared.

"I'll explain when everyone else is here," Chiron said.

The cabin heads filtered in. Piper waved at him from across the ping pong table. Will slid in beside him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Nico grinned. He had long gotten over his embarrassment at public displays of affection.

"There has been a prophecy," Chiron started the meeting, getting right into it. He recounted Rachel's words.

"Only two for a quest?" Percy asked from the corner of the room, arm around Annabeth. "Isn't it usually three?"

"I don't know why, but I get the feeling that yeah, there's only supposed to be two on this quest," Rachel said.

"Are you sure?" Chiron asked.

"Am I ever?" Rachel shot back. "No, I don't know for sure, but that's just the vibe I get."

"So who are the light and dark?" Clarisse asked.

"Light probably refers to a child of Apollo," Annabeth spoke up. "They're the ones most associated with the sun and light."

"That sounds like it could be right," Clarisse agreed. "But who's dark?"

"No offense, Nico, but that sounds a lot like you," Percy pointed out. Nico looked down. The dark jeans, leather jacket, and skull ring probably weren't helping his case.

"It could also mean a child of Hecate," Nico replied. "They can deal with some pretty dark stuff."

"I'm inclined to agree with Percy," Chiron said. "With the control of underworld magic, this fits more strongly with you than with a child of Hecate, especially since none of the campers we have now are into any of the darker magic."

"If Nico's going, I'm going," Will put in. There were a few grins and catcalls around the table. Will ignored them.

"Who will be counselor of Apollo cabin while you're gone?" Chiron asked.

"Kayla," Will answered. "I've been trying to get her ready for it anyway, for when I go to college."

"Then you two will go on this quest," Chiron agreed.

"What is the first material?" Percy asked. Chiron stiffened and so, Nico noticed, did Annabeth.

"While not strictly a Greek legend, it could still be beyond dangerous," Chiron said, resigned. "It has to do with alchemy. It is the base material that all things are formed from, sometimes called aether. Remnants of Chaos, this could destroy everything. At least, based on phrasing, this is what it sounds like."

"Great. Another save-the-world quest," Percy grumbled. "And we're sure that only two can go on this quest? This sounds pretty important."

"Think we can't handle it, Jackson?" Will asked teasingly.

"The day I bet against Nico is the day I turn into a tiny puddle of darkness," Percy replied, raising his hands.

"So where are they going?" Clarisse asked.

"Well, it said to go north to fight a goddess scorned. Between the ice and the goddess, it sounds a lot like Khione to me," Piper said. Her fists clenched. "Stupid D-list goddess."

"So…Quebec?" Nico asked.

"It's a place to start," Chiron agreed. "You should travel to Boreas' palace and see what he knows."

"Road trip!" Will nudged Nico's shoulder, and Nico smiled despite himself. A quest with Will...this could bring them closer, and Nico would love the excuse to spend more time with Will before Will went to college.

Nico met Will later that evening, having packed up his stuff. Will was standing by the chariot. Nico rubbed the nose of the nearest horse. Originally skittish around him, the horses had gotten used to him, and now liked him almost as much as they liked Will.

"Did you pack enough warm clothes?" Will asked.

"Yes, Mom," Nico laughed.

"You get cold easily, angel," Will shook his head. "I don't want to hear you moaning about how you're freezing when we get to Canada. Where it's winter. And it gets cold enough to build freaking hotels out of ice."

"I get your point, but seriously, I'll be fine," Nico sighed. "I'm not a delicate flower, you know. I can take care of myself."

"That's my job," Will said fondly. "All right, then. Let's get going. It's a long flight."

Nico would have offered to drive, he really would have, but when he fell asleep, curled around Will's ankles like a cat, Will let him sleep. He only woke up when a snowflake fell on his face, the cold waking him up.

"Are we there yet?" Nico asked, except because he was still half asleep, it sounded more like "Rr we thrr yet?"

"Well, hello, sleeping beauty," Will teased gently. "We're coming in over Quebec now. We should be coming into Boreas' palace soon."

Sure enough, a purple winged angel was flying towards him.

"Who are you, and what is your business here?" the angel asked. He looked like he was trying to sound impressive, but the effect was ruined by the bad mullet and the worse acne.

"We're demigods on a quest from Camp Half Blood," Will said calmly. "We want to talk to Lord Boreas."

"Well, at least you have some manners," the angel nodded approvingly. "Right this way."

Will guided the chariot into the ice palace, following the angel. Nico shivered a little, reflexively, as they entered the building. It was an entire building made out of ice, after all.

"Follow me," the angel said. "Lord Boreas will see you now."

There was a man sitting in a throne, and he said something in what sounded like French. Nico screwed up his eyes. It was similar enough to Italian that he could sort of figure out the gist of the statement, but there was no way he could communicate in French.

"I'm sorry, Lord Boreas, but we have to ask you to speak English," Will said apologetically.

"Very well, if you ask politely," the god answered in a heavy French accent. "Why have you come?"

"We're on a quest," Nico spoke up. "Based on the prophecy, it sounds like your daughter Khione is stirring up trouble. Do you have any idea where she is?"

"Only the vaguest, I'm afraid," Boreas answered sadly. "Her pride was much wounded because of her defeat and insult during the war, and I cast her from my house when she returned. The only help I can offer is that I own a small mansion on Ile Atkinson, in the middle of Lac à l'Eau Claire. It is well shielded from mortals, and very few ever go there. You are welcome to use the mansion, even if you do not find her."

"Thank you, Lord Boreas," Will said. "Do you have any requests for when we do find her?"

"I want nothing to do with my daughter for the time being," Boreas answered sharply. "She brought shame upon me when she supported Gaea. Do with her what you wish."

"We'll be sure to let you know on our way back from finding her," Nico promised. The god waved them off absently. Nico and Will went back to the chariot.

"To Ile Atkinson?" Nico asked.

"To Ile Atkinson," Will agreed.

"My turn to drive," Nico said. He took the reins before Will could protest. Will shrugged and curled into a ball on the chariot floor. It occurred to Nico that Will had flown all through the night and was probably exhausted at this point.

"You should have woken me up," Nico said, exasperated. Will was already asleep, his breath making the smallest snoring noise at the back of his throat. Nico felt his face soften. Will was absolutely adorable like this. Nico kissed him on the cheek before urging the horses into the sky. They were heading even farther north.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico nudged Will with his shin to wake him up.

"Hey, sunshine, we're almost there," Nico told him. Will rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Brr. It got cold," Will shivered as he pulled his coat on. Nico already had his coat on, as well as a scarf and a pair of gloves. Will was right, he wasn't a fan of the cold.

"Well, we did go farther north," Nico commented. "It's pretty empty up here. I haven't seen anything but snow and maybe a few animals in an hour."

"Perfect place for Khione to hide, right?" Will pointed out. "What's that?"

Nico squinted ahead. He was usually pretty good at seeing through the Mist. Now, it cleared and revealed a mansion on an island in the middle of the lake.

"That has to be it," Nico said. "There's nothing else around for miles."

"Let's land, but be careful," Will warned. "Piper told me she can be pretty nasty."

"If Piper could take her down with nothing but charmspeak, I'm not too worried," Nico answered casually. "We could be home by tomorrow."

"Don't underestimate your enemy, angel. It's a good way to get killed."

"Come on, sunshine, I survived Tartarus. What's a forgotten D-list goddess going to do to me?"

"Hell hath no fury…" Will muttered. Like a woman scorned, Nico finished in his head.

"Fine, I'll be careful," Nico shook his head. "You worry too much. We've got this."

At this point, they were pulling up in front of the mansion. So far, no traps were going off. That was either a good sign, or a sign that they were in the wrong place. They approached cautiously. Nico signaled to Will, "Go around that way, meet in the back." Will nodded and took off. Nico turned the other way. He was almost ready to call the place empty when he heard a soft sound, like a footstep, from inside the house. Someone was here.

He met Will in the back. Will could tell from Nico's face that someone was there, and he nodded. They snuck to the door, quiet as a pair of mice. Slipping into the house, they heard another footstep upstairs. They nodded to each other and crept up the stairs without a sound. Peering into the first door they came to, they saw a pale girl with dark hair. She was muttering to herself, staring at a vial that looked full of a black cloud.

"Yes, yes, of course, but how do I form it?" she muttered, turning the vial this way and that. Nico squeezed Will's hand before he burst into the room.

"Who in Hades are you?" Khione shrieked. Nico ignored her and tried to grab the vial, but she hit him with an icy blast that sent him crashing through the window. Luckily, he fell into a snow bank with nothing worse than some cuts from the glass and a twisted ankle. He ran to the front of the house, trying not to limp. Will was stepping backwards out the front door, fending off ice attacks with light that he held in his palms. Nico stepped forward, raising his sword to hit the goddess. She let out an unearthly shriek, and a crazy freezing whirlwind swept the two boys out onto the frozen lake.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, ready to face the goddess.

"What do you want?" she screamed. "Why are you here?"

"You know why," Nico said. "We need the stuff you have."

"As if you could use it," she scoffed.

"We don't want to," Will said. "We just need to get it away from you."

"How dare you?" she raged. "What makes you think you deserve to take it away from me?"

"You're dangerous. We're just protecting ourselves," Nico retorted.

She flew towards them with a battle cry, frigid as winter, and swiped her hand to send a small blizzard their way. Will blocked it with his light magic, and Nico took a swing. He missed, ending up on the opposite side of her from Will. Khione stamped her foot, and cracks appeared in the ice. Nico and Will jumped out of the way, and Nico took the chance to take another swing at her. He hit her at the top of her back, a line of golden ichor forming.

"How dare you strike a goddess!" she cried. She blasted back at him while Will stepped in and shot a bolt of light at her. She fell to one knee, the ice cracking even worse.

"You will never get that prima materia, and you will never understand why I want it," she warned.

"Why do you want it?" Will asked, stepping closer with his palms up, glowing. "What are you trying to do?"

"As if I'd tell you," she tossed her head, trying to rise. Will stepped forward again, raising his hands as they glowed brighter.

Nico circled around behind Will, trying to jump the cracks, when his twisted ankle made itself known. He slipped, and before he could even cry out, he had fallen through the ice. There was every chance that Will hadn't seen him go down, so he tried to swim back to the surface.

The problem was, he had drifted away from where the ice was cracked to where it was solid. He tried to swim back to the cracks, but in the dark, he couldn't see where he was going. He was starting to run out of air as he searched for a break in the ice. Giving up, he started pounding on the ice, trying desperately to break through. It was no use. The ice was too thick.

Some sort of current smashed him against the solid ice, and he let out all of his held breath. He tried to keep his mouth shut, but in the end his body rebelled and took a big gulp of the freezing water.

Nico had a sudden flash of clarity. He was going to drown. Even if Will had seen him go down, there was no way he could get to him in time. He tried one last time to swim to a break in the ice, but his limbs felt like lead, and he could barely move. He started to sink, his eyes drifting shut.

"Will," he thought one last time before the lack of oxygen dragged him down into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for that last chapter, let me make it up to you.

Something slammed into Nico's back. Hard. And again. And again. Water gushed out of his mouth and nose.

"Breathe, damn it!" a voice cried. Nico tried, but water was still coming out of his airways, and all he could do was suck some of it back in. Soon enough, though, it was all out, and he took a giant gulp of air.

That was when he realized that he had much bigger problems.

He was so cold that he wasn't even shivering anymore, and he couldn't feel his hands or his feet. He opened his eyes and saw Will staring down at him. He relaxed a little. Will was a healer. Will had this.

"Can't save people who are too far gone," a sly voice in his head whispered, but Nico tried to ignore it as he started to shiver uncontrollably.

"W-w-will?" he forced out through chattering teeth. His jaw felt like gelatin.

"Oh, thank the gods," Will sighed fervently. He shoved a square of ambrosia into Nico's mouth before Nico realized what was happening. "You're not out of the woods yet, angel."

Nico tried to chew the ambrosia with his frozen, not-so-functioning jaw, when Will tipped his head back and poured some nectar down his throat.

"D-d-damn it, Will!" he stuttered when he could breathe again. Will was ignoring him, stripping him out of his clothes. "W-what a-are y-y-you d-doing?"

"You're going to get hypothermia. I need to get the wet clothes off you," Will said, pulling Nico's pants down and his shirt over his head.

"B-but…"

"Doctor's orders. And stop acting like I've never seen you naked," Will snapped. "There's no one here but me, don't be embarrassed."

With all the wet clothes except for Nico's boxers off, Will pulled off his own shirt, hugged Nico to his chest, and wrapped his dry coat around the two of them.

"Wh-what are y-you d-d-doing now?" Nico asked.

"Warming you up with my body heat," Will answered. "There's nothing here to make a fire. This is all I have, Nico."

Nico looked up at the sound of his own name. Will didn't call him much other than angel unless he was really serious. Tears were streaming down Will's cheeks. Thinking back, Nico realized that Will had been sobbing as he pounded on Nico's back and forced ambrosia and nectar down his throat.

"W-w-will?" he tried to speak up, but failed miserably. Instead, he lifted a hand to wipe away the tear tracks. Will scrubbed the heel of his hand across his eyes and tucked Nico's arm back into the coat. Nico cuddled as close to Will as he could, shoved his hands into Will's armpits, and tucked his head against Will's shoulder. Will flinched but didn't move away.

"You're so cold," Will said. His voice was almost a whisper, and he sounded haunted. "I thought…for a minute, I thought I'd lost you. When I pulled you out of the lake, you were so white and frozen and you weren't breathing. I thought I was too late.

"I'm so sorry," he continued. "If I'd been paying better attention, you wouldn't have been down there so long."

"It's n-not your f-f-fault," Nico shivered. "I t-twisted m-my ankle and I s-slipped on it. I sh-should have l-listened to y-you. Y-you t-t-told me t-to be c-careful."

"Yes, I did. Remind me to be mad at you about that when I'm done being scared you'll die on me," Will retorted. That made them both chuckle tiredly.

"I m-might get sick, sunshine, b-but I don't think I'm g-going to die," Nico said. It was true. His shivering was getting less violent as he relaxed into Will's warmth. Will's hands stroked up and down Nico's back, and Nico realized that Will was healing him, or at least, his palms were glowing. "A-are you healing m-me?"

"Yes," Will gasped, and Nico could heal the strain in his voice. He looked up. Will's cheeks were flushed with exertion, but the rest of his face was pale and sweaty.

"You used a l-lot of power f-fighting her. Don't h-hurt yourself," Nico warned.

"One of us is closer to death, and it's not the one who's doing the healing," Will replied. "I want to make sure that you're going to make it. I'll worry about everything else after."

"Khione?" Nico asked.

"She got away, but she's not at the top of the to-do list right now," Will told him.

"But sunshine, she has some pretty powerful stuff," Nico protested. "This is bigger than us."

"NICO DI ANGELO!" Will roared, making Nico jump. "You came this close to dying, you can barely move, and you are about to get sick. I can tell," he cut Nico off before Nico could protest. "So you are going to stay here, for as long as I say, and you are going to do what I tell you to the letter, and you are going to heal whether you like it or not!"

Nico nodded on Will's shoulder, then raised his head.

"Full name?" he asked. He could probably count on one hand the number of times Will had called him by his full name.

"It's a good way to emphasize your point," Will grinned sheepishly. "Do you have a middle name somewhere in there? Middle names always make yelling more impressive."

"It's…" Nico trailed off. He could feel the space in his mind where a middle name should exist, but it wasn't there. "I can't remember it. It must have been wiped when I was in the Lethe."

"No middle name?" Will asked. "Then we just have to give you one."

"Give me one?"

"Sure. I bet this isn't the last time I have to yell to get you to listen to me," Will said, but he kissed the top of Nico's head and hugged him tighter to let Nico know he was teasing. "So stubborn. Besides, how many people get to choose their own name?"

"Hmm…" Nico mused.

"Bob?" Will suggested with a barely concealed mischievous grin.

"Nico Bob di Angelo?" Nico asked, amused. "Somehow, it just doesn't sound right."

"Hunter?" Will went on. He was serious now, into the game of picking a middle name for Nico.

"Better, but I do have an Italian thing going right now," Nico thought out loud. "Try to stick to that."

"Leonardo?" Will asked.

"We already have a Leo. We don't need another."

"Ricardo?"

"Mm. Not bad, but not quite right."

"Lorenzo?"

"I like it, but I feel like that would give me too many "o" endings."

"You're right," Will shook his head. "Problem is, every Italian name I can think of ends in "o", you know? Wait, wait, what about Dante?"

"Dante," Nico rolled the name around on his tongue.

"Or Raphael? Neither of those end in "o". What do you think?"

"Nico Raphael di Angelo," Nico said, tried it out. It flowed nicely, and it felt like…it fit. "Raphael. That can be my middle name."

"Perfect. Now when I have to yell at you, I can let the rage escalate through the syllables," Will smiled, giving Nico's shoulder a squeeze.

"What's your's?"

"What?"

"What's your middle name?" Nico asked.

"Ryan," Will told him. "No special reason, I guess my mom just liked it."

"William Ryan Solace," Nico said, for the first time in his life. It was a nice name.

"And now you have something to yell at me when I'm too stubborn to listen to you," Will smiled down into Nico's eyes. Nico stretched his neck up to meet Will's lips, his eyes drifting shut. Will kissed him gently, like Nico was something fragile that could break at any minute. After a few moments, they broke apart.

"Sometimes I forget how gentle you used to be with me," Nico remembered.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you liked me, and even when I knew you did, I knew I was your first boyfriend," Will told him. "I didn't want to scare you off."

"You're plenty rough with me now. Sometimes, anyway."

"If I was going to scare you off, I would have done it already."

"That's true," Nico replied. He wasn't shivering at all anymore, but it felt like the cold had seeped into his bones, so he still felt chilled. Will gently adjusted him so that he could stand up. Nico whined at the loss of warmth.

"Give me a second, angel," Will said. "I'm just getting a sleeping bag. The best thing you can do now is rest."

Nico nodded, pulling Will's dry coat closer around him. Will tossed a dry pair of pants and a shirt his way. Nico slipped the shirt on but ignored the pants. Will laid the sleeping bag down next to him, unzipped it, and opened his arms invitingly. Moving as quickly as he could, Nico dashed out from under the coat and into Will's arms. He shivered a little as he adjusted, warming back up.

"Sleep, angel," Will said soothingly into Nico's hair, his arms around Nico's back. "Whatever else we have to deal with, we can deal with in the morning. Just sleep now."

"I love you, sunshine," Nico murmured, drifting down into sleep. He heard Will laugh and kiss him on the cheek before he was completely gone, sleeping in Will's arms.


	4. Chapter 4

Nico woke up to Will gently stroking his hair. Will's eyes were vacant, focused on some point above Nico's head, before he saw that Nico was awake.

"So you made it through the night," Will said, smiling in relief. Nico smiled back. He noticed that Will had a few sweat beads on his forehead.

"Are you hot?" Nico asked.

"A little," Will admitted. "I was a little more worried about keeping you warm, though."

"I'm okay. Like I said, I'll probably be sick, but I'm going to be fine." Nico rolled out of the sleeping bag. He didn't exactly feel cold anymore, but he did feel like he had lifted a ton of weight yesterday. His limbs felt like lead, and he was moving slowly. Will watched him cautiously.

"Come on," Nico told him. "Get dressed. We should go after Khione."

"What did I tell you about waiting to heal, angel?" Will growled.

"Sunshine, I would love nothing more than to hang out in this mansion with you for a few more days, but this is important," Nico said levelly. "She has the prima materia. We have to stop her, you know that."

"You owe me time in the infirmary when we get back," Will warned, hands on his hips.

"Fine. Let's make sure we get back, then."

Nico picked up his shirt from yesterday. He gave a shout of joy.

"What?" Will asked.

"I don't believe it. There's still some ichor left on here," Nico answered. "One of the Hecate kids gave me a tracking spell, now we can use it!"

"That," Will said, "is excellent news. Work on that while I get the horses, will you?"

Nico squeezed as much ichor as he could into the tracking charm that Lily, a daughter of Hecate, had given him. He was surprised at how much had stayed on his shirt, even after falling into the lake, but ichor was some pretty strange stuff. Anything connected to the gods was, really. He shivered at the memory. While he didn't feel cold on the outside anymore, it felt like the cold had settled into his bones, which was why he was moving so slowly. He checked over his shoulder for Will before he grabbed a small square of ambrosia. He felt his temperature rise and for a second almost felt like he was burning before the magic settled into his system. He knew Will wouldn't like him eating so much of the stuff. More to the point, he knew it was dangerous to eat too much; he had just felt that. But he needed to be up to speed, and for now, it looked like his risk was paying off.

"What's the tracking spell say?" Will asked, coming around the front of the mansion. Nico kept his attention carefully focused on the charm. He was really bad at lying to Will, so he had to keep Will form looking too closely until the effects of the extra ambrosia wore off.

"She went farther north," Nico groaned.

"Boreas did say she was a child of the north," Will replied, smiling wryly. "It makes sense she would head there for safety."

"We can't be that far south of the North Pole," Nico complained. "How much farther north can she go?"

"Hopefully, we'll catch her before then. I don't like the idea of fighting at the North Pole, as good a story as that would be," Will said.

"Come on," Nico bundled Will into the chariot. "She has enough of a head start already."

"Why is your face red?" Will asked as they took off.

"Who knows?" Nico answered carefully, watching the tracking charm. "You said I was going to get sick. I'm probably getting sick."

"Not the kind of sick I expected you to get…angel, you're burning up!" Will gasped as he laid a hand on Nico's forehead. "There's no way you should have gotten this sick this fast."

"I…"

"Did you take more ambrosia?"

Nico made the mistake of looking up. Will could read his face the minute they made eye contact.

"Nico Raphael di Angelo!" Will shouted. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? No, don't answer that, I know you do. Why in Hades would you do that?"

"I was feeling slow, and I need to be able to move so I can fight," Nico replied, looking down at his feet. He really didn't want to tell Will the real reason he had taken the ambrosia.

"I don't care!" Will raged. "You realize you could have killed yourself? Gods, like that stunt with the ice didn't already give me a heart attack!"

"I didn't do that on purpose!" Nico shot back, knowing he was rising to Will's bait, but unable to help himself.

"No, but you took the ambrosia on purpose," Will retorted. "What made you think you had to? I know your pride as a fighter wouldn't be enough to make you risk it."

"I want to protect you!" Nico blurted out before he could stop himself. Will froze. "Look, Will, as good as you've gotten with that light trick, you're more of a healer than a warrior. And I don't mean that as an insult," he added hastily as Will opened his mouth to argue. "I actually mean it as a compliment. But I am a warrior, and I have been ever since I found my way to Camp Half-Blood. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Can you blame me for wanting to make sure you stay safe?"

There was silence for a moment, and Nico was sure he was in for the scolding of his life, or worse, the silent treatment. Granted, Will had never given him the silent treatment before, but Nico had never pulled anything this bad before. Maybe he deserved it.

"As if I need some scrawny, punk sixteen year old guarding my ass," Will said, breaking the silence, but he nudged Nico affectionately on the shoulder, letting him know that he was, for the time being, forgiven. "You, angel, are going to have a miserable time in the infirmary when we get home."

"And by miserable you mean…?"

"I know you well enough to know the best ways to torture you," Will smirked. Nico gulped.

"And how long do I have to stay in the infirmary this time?"

"At least a week, but this time it's going to be as long as I want." Will was grinning evilly at this point. Nico groaned, because he could think of some of the things Will had planned. Sure, he probably deserved it, but that didn't mean he was going to like it.

"Hey, see that blizzard up ahead?" Nico pointed.

"Think that's her?"

"That's not a natural blizzard."

They were closing in fast.

"Plan?" Will asked.

"I can shadow travel close to her, and grab her so you can blast her with light," Nico suggested. "That would work better than any of my Underworld magic. Plus, when I'm that close, I can take stabs at her, maybe even get the prima materia away from her."

"You know I don't like you using Underworld magic," Will said.

"Then you better get in fast to cover my ass," Nico replied cheerfully. "Come on, do you have a better plan?"

Will muttered something under his breath about what he'd rather do with Nico's ass, but he nodded.

"Fine. Be careful."

"Got it."

Nico shadow travelled into the heart of the blizzard. He landed right next to the goddess and managed to grab her from behind. She screamed in surprise and tried to throw him off, but he had an iron grip on her, and he dug a dagger into her shoulder.

"Where's the prima materia?" he growled.

"Why can't you demigods just leave me be?" she sobbed. "I wasn't going to use it against you. Well, not all of you."

"What do you even want it for?" he asked as he reached for the vial, hanging on her belt.

"I wanted to create a storm cloud that would always hang over Piper McLean for eternity, mess up her makeup and outfits, children of Aphrodite always hate that."

Nico looked at her in disbelief.

"Seriously? You could literally have anything you wanted, and that's what you were planning to do with it? Is this really prima materia?"

"Of course it is, you stupid boy," she snapped. "I don't dare create anything worse. Don't you know the price for creation?"

He never found out, because that was when the cavalry came charging in. Will shot a bolt of light directly at Khione's chest, and she started to fall from the sky.

"What have you done to me?" she cried. "My ice powers…they're gone!"

Nico took one more slash at her before he leaped for the chariot. Will grabbed his arm and swung him up.

"What did you do?" he asked Will.

"I'm not really sure. That was everything I had in one burst," Will admitted. "I was only hoping to phase her, but it worked a lot better than I thought it would."

"And I'm the reckless one," Nico grumbled. "Do you think we should do something?"

Khione was in a free fall to the ground. Whatever Will had done, she didn't seem like she could fly or control snow anymore. Even if she was immortal, she might shatter when she hit the ground, which would put her out of commission for years in only gods knew where.

"Oh, shit," Will snapped. "Didn't mean to do that."

Will angled the chariot down, chasing the fallen goddess. They weren't fast enough, though. She hit the ground before they could reach her.

"Shit," Will gasped, jumping out of the chariot. Khione lay on the ground, bleeding her golden blood into the snow. "Nico, get the ambrosia. Khione, is there anything we can do?"

"You offer healing after what you have done?" she wheezed.

"I never meant to kill you," Will replied, taking the nectar from Nico and pouring it into her mouth. "Can this save you?"

"Perhaps, son of Apollo," she said. "You have remarkable compassion. But your fatal flaw will be your undoing. I can see it soon. Beware."

"Beware of what?" Will asked, but Khione's eyes were closing. Nico was on his knees next to them, watching with bated breath. A swirl of snowflakes surrounded the goddess, and when they cleared, a little girl was in Will's arms, fast asleep and free of wounds. Nico and Will looked at each other.

"How did that happen?" Nico asked.

"I've seen ambrosia and nectar do strange things, sometimes," Will replied. "Maybe the combination of that and whatever I did to her turned her back into a child?"

"Well, however it happened, what do we do with her? I don't think we can just let a toddler loose in the world, even if she is a goddess."

"We'll take her to Boreas," Will decided. "She's his daughter, maybe he'll know what to do."

Nico flew the chariot as Will kept an eye on the young Khione. She woke up and started chattering with Will in a mix of English and French that neither of them could keep up with.

"What have you demigods done?" the god demanded in a heavy French accent when he set eyes on his daughter. "How have you done this?"

"We really don't know. It was an accident, Lord Boreas," Will admitted. Nico stood tense, ready to grab Will and run if things went south, or in this case, north.

"This could be a good thing," Nico suggested. "She's young again, and she doesn't remember being older. You could mold her to your will."

"Papa!" Khione cried as she ran to Boreas. He scooped her up, almost as if instinct had taken over. He pursed his lips in thought.

"Very well," he said finally. "I can see the advantage of this position. But know, demigods, that had you done this to her on purpose, you would be dead where you stand."

"Thank you, Lord Boreas," Will said. "We'll be on our way."

"It would be best if you don't come back for some time," the god warned.

"Don't worry," Nico muttered darkly.

And he and Will were on their way back to camp with the prima materia.


	5. Chapter 5

Nico stayed awake and standing by Will's side as the chariot sped towards Camp Half-Blood. The prima materia was in his pocket, and he reached in to feel it every so often to remind himself that it was still there.

"What do you think we're going to do with it?" Nico asked.

"I hope we keep it," Will replied. "We can make anything out of it, it could help so many people."

"I don't know, sunshine, this stuff is really dangerous," Nico said. "Remember how Khione just wanted some petty revenge on Piper? She was afraid of this stuff."

"So what if it's dangerous? That just means we have to be careful," Will went on. "I mean, Leo's really dangerous with his fire powers, and we still keep him around."

"That's because he's our friend."

"I still think we should keep it."

"We'll see what Chiron says when we get back," Nico waved his hand to cut the topic off. "What is your fatal flaw?"

"What?"

"Khione said that your fatal flaw was going to be your undoing, and she said she could see it coming soon," Nico said. "So what's your fatal flaw? Maybe we can guard against it."

"I don't know," Will told him. "It's never come up in any of the quests I've gone on. What's your's?"

"Holding grudges," Nico answered darkly. "It's kind of a Hades thing."

"A lot of Apollo kids have hubris," Will said. "If you've met my dad, you understand why. But I don't think it's that. I mean, I don't think I could do a better job of running the world than the gods or that I'd make the best leader. I'm a lot better at being a team player anyway."

"You're right. Hubris has never struck me as one of your character traits," Nico agreed. "You know what? I bet it would be something unexpected, like Percy's."

"What's Percy's?"

"Loyalty. He can't give up on his friends, even if it means sacrificing the world to do it," Nico told him. "You can imagine why that made the Gaea quest he went on hard."

"You might be right, but we can figure this out later," Will said as the descended into Camp Half-Blood. They found Chiron immediately, and gave the prima materia to him.

"Just as I suspected," Chiron breathed. "This is prima materia, a piece of Chaos."

"What do we do with it?" Nico asked.

"Chiron, I think we should keep it," Will said. "Hear me out. We could make any medicine with it. A cure for cancer, regrow nerve cells, a universal antibody. This could save a lot of lives and ease a lot of suffering."

"I understand why you want that, Will, but it's just too dangerous," Chiron sighed. "Mortals weren't meant to hold the pieces of creation. There could be repercussions that you could never dream of."

"But…"

"It must be destroyed," Chiron decided. "Or contained. The gods could do that."

"So you want us to take it to Olympus and let the gods decide what to do with it?" Nico asked.

"That seems the wisest course of action," Chiron affirmed. "This is your quest. You two should finish it."

"I don't like this," Will said.

"You don't have to," Chiron replied, "but we all need to make sacrifices for the greater good. No good can come from keeping it, Will."

"You know the gods will never do anything to help us with this," Will complained to Nico as they went back to the chariot. "They'll hide it, or use it for themselves."

"At least they can handle it," Nico tried to soothe him. "Remember what Chiron said about repercussions? We could set off something horrible without even meaning to."

"We could figure out a way to handle it safely," Will argued. "How can you not see how much good this could do?"

"How can you not see how much bad it could do?" Nico shot back. "Why are you trying so hard to defend this? You've never done anything like this before."

"I've never had the key to a cure for everything in my hands before. I'm a healer and I'm studying to be a doctor, can't you understand that if a cure like that existed, it would make everyone's lives so much better?"

"Let it go," Nico advised. "Ask your dad about that when we get up there. Who knows, they might give you the cure for cancer."

"If they were going to do that, they would've done it already," Will said darkly. He was sullenly quiet as they flew to New York, only answering when Nico directed a question at him. Nico was worried. He had never seen Will like this before. Sure, he could understand why Will wanted the prima materia so badly, but he couldn't understand why Will didn't see how much risk it carried. And he was nearly as stubborn as Nico, but never this bad before.

They were flying over the city now, heading for the Empire State Building.

"There it is. This shouldn't take long, want to get ice cream or something when we're done?" Nico asked, hoping to draw Will out of his sulking.

"Mmm," Will replied. He was slowing down, heading for the top of a tall building.

"Why are we stopping?" Nico asked.

"It's only for a minute," Will answered, avoiding the question.

"Seriously, sunshine, what are we…?"

But then Will pushed him out of the chariot onto the roof.

"I'm sorry!" he called as Nico scrambled to his feet, only to see Will taking off in the opposite direction of the Empire State Building.

"Damn it, Will!" he screamed in frustration. "You're going to get someone killed!"

But Will was already too far away to hear or call back, and Nico was left on his own, in the middle of New York City, with no idea what to do. Will had to have lost his mind; he never would have pulled a stunt like that normally. With a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach, Nico realized that Will, in fact, was acting like he'd lost his mind. He sure wasn't acting normal. Fishing a drachma and a prism out of his pocket, he sent an Iris message.

"Nico? What's wrong?" Annabeth's face appeared in the rainbow.

"I don't have much time. Can magical objects affect people? Like, affect their minds?"

"Well, yes, some powerful objects have been known to mess with their holders, especially the primordial stuff. Sometimes it can form a connection to someone vulnerable to its powers and pull at their mind. Why?"

"Because Will just went AWOL and he wasn't acting like himself," Nico replied. "Oh, gods, this has something to do with his fatal flaw; that must be why the prima materia pulled at him and not me."

"Will's missing?" Annabeth gasped.

"Yes, but I'm going after him," Nico told her. "I think I have an idea of how to stop him, but he would respond better to me. Don't send in reinforcements, and please, Annabeth, don't tell Chiron yet. I think I can handle this before it gets worse."

"The minute things go downhill, you call me, all right?" Annabeth said sternly. "Don't be a hero. Let us help you if you can't handle it."

"I promise I'll call if things get out of hand, but thanks for telling me about the pull. I think I know what to do now."

He waved his hand to sever the connection, and looked in the direction that Will had taken off in.

"I'm coming, sunshine," he whispered. He was going to smack some sense into Will, whether Will liked it or not.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico still had the tracking charm, and it was reusable.

"Something to track, something to track…" he muttered to himself, searching his pockets. Surely he had to have something of Will's that would work. He finally ended up using a few blonde hairs hat he found in various places on his clothing and hoped it was enough. It seemed to be. The charm started guiding him in the direction Will had gone. The only problem was, he didn't have a chariot anymore, and he couldn't really call Camp Half-Blood for a Pegasus, since he was trying to handle this on his own.

"Damn it all, Will," he growled. He was going to have to shadow travel. Without a clear idea of where he was going, he was going to have to do it in bursts, aiming in the general direction the charm was pointing. It was going to be less precise, and it was going to wear him out. He hoped he would still be able to fight when he was done.

There was nothing left for it. He shadow travelled about a mile in the direction the charm was leading him. He had aimed too far to the right. Sighing, he tried to aim back to the left so he would be straight on. He overshot it again. Will was still ahead of him, and he was already getting tired.

"You are in so much damn trouble, Will," Nico groaned. He kept it up, aiming back and forth with the shadow travelling until, finally, he overshot the mark and Will was behind him. He had to be close. He travelled back just a little, and before he was about to travel again, he caught a glimpse of the chariot out of the corner of his eye.

"Where are you going?" he asked, exasperated. Unless Will had failed to mention family in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, he wasn't going anywhere.

At least now he had a clear destination. He tried to shadow travel to the chariot. However, Will had decided that at that moment he was ready to go down, so Nico ended up where the chariot had been, free falling towards the ground. He resisted the urge to scream as he shadow travelled to the ground. He was close enough that he should be able to get to Will on foot.

He was shaky, though. He hadn't shadow travelled this much since he had taken the Athena Parthenos back to camp with Reyna. Granted, this time he didn't have a giant magic statue, a fellow demigod, and a satyr to lug with him, but it was still hard. He ended up leaning on trees as he passed them, winded from the steep slope.

"Will!" he called when he got within twenty feet. "Stop!"

Will looked over his shoulder and saw Nico, and took off running.

"Damn it, Will, wait up!" Nico screamed. He started to run after Will, ignoring how exhausted he was. "Stop before you do something stupid!"

But Will was a lot faster than him right now, and he was losing ground.

"WILLIAM RYAN SOLACE!" Nico shrieked in frustration. Finally, that made Will pause for long enough for Nico to catch up. "What in Hades do you think you're doing? That stuff is calling to you, it's messing with your mind because it doesn't want to be contained. It's playing on your fatal flaw."

"Do you even know what that is?" Will asked in a strangely dead voice. There was something wrong with his eyes. They looked hollow.

"I…" Nico didn't know, but he was going to have to think fast. He knew Will better than anyone, he should be able to figure this out. He thought hard about how Will had started to act weird with the prima materia when…

"When you wanted to help people!" Nico exclaimed. "And remember what Khione said? She said something about your compassion before she talked about your fatal flaw. Compassion is your fatal flaw!"

"How can compassion be a fatal flaw?" Will countered in the same dead voice.

"The same way loyalty can be a fatal flaw for Percy," Nico replied desperately. "You two take good things too far. Percy is loyal to the point of insanity. You're compassionate to the point of ignoring danger. Compassion's good in moderation, but you've got so much that you don't even realize that the way you're trying to end suffering is really dangerous. And now that stuff has a hold on your mind, and you have to fight it!"

"They'll just lock it up," Will said vaguely. "It'll never be useful."

"The way you want to use it is too dangerous," Nico protested, his voice edging up in pitch. "Khione-a goddess-only wanted to use it for a petty revenge scheme because she was so scared of it. She said there was a price to using it; that must be the repercussion Chiron was talking about. Don't you see, you could do so much harm than good if you try to use it."

"More harm than good…?" Will trailed off.

"Yeah, so if your flaw really is compassion, that should make you think twice about this damn stuff," Nico pleaded, tears rising in his eyes from frustration. "Give me the prima materia, sunshine."

Will slowly extended his hand, the vial of prima materia grasped tightly in it. Nico reached out to take it. Will's fingers still clutched on to it, and Nico had to pry them open. As soon as he did, though, the dead look in Will's eyes went away, and he shook his head.

"Angel, what…what's going on?" he asked, looking dazed. Nico slapped him across the face. Hard.

"That's for the stupid stunt you just pulled," Nico spat. Now that he was getting over his worry for Will, he was furious. "Get in the damn chariot so we can get rid of this gods damned stuff and go home!"

Will got docilely into the chariot behind Nico. He was starting to look guilty.

"Good," Nico thought angrily. The rational part of his brain was trying to remind him that he was tired from all the shadow travelling he had done and that it wasn't entirely Will's fault and that his fatal flaw was holding grudges and did he really want to hold a grudge against Will? but he ignored the rational part of his mind. "Just for now," he told himself. He needed a few minutes-or hours-to be angry. He would calm down once the prima materia was out of their hands for good.

"I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?" Will asked, resigned.

"Damn straight," Nico retorted. "Just…stay quiet for a while, will you? We can talk later."

There was a lot of awkward silence as they flew back to New York. As they landed at the Empire State Building, Nico acknowledged that even though he had every right to be mad at Will, he was being a little unreasonable.

"I'll be reasonable when this is all done," Nico thought. They made their way to the top of the building, to Olympus. When they stepped out, they were greeted by the whole host of gods, sitting in their thrones.

"My lords and ladies," Nico said, trying to remember to be polite even though he was angry. "We've recovered a piece of prima materia. We're giving it to you."

"Prima materia? A piece of Chaos?" Zeus asked. "Where did you find that?"

"Khione had it. Don't worry, we dealt with her," he added hastily as Zeus opened his mouth.

"What would you have us do with it, son of Hades?" Zeus asked.

"Contain it," Nico replied. "It's too powerful for even demigods to mess with. I've seen that already," he resisted glancing at Will. "So we're giving it to you, to destroy or use as you see fit."

"Very well. Give it to me," Zeus sighed. Nico handed the vial to Zeus.

"We'll be going now. We've got to get back to camp," Nico said as he grabbed Will's wrist and pulled him towards the elevator.

"Hello, son," said a voice from the corner. Apollo had been forgiven enough to be allowed back into Olympus, but he was resigned to a corner, separate from the other gods.

"Hi dad," Will replied quietly. Nico dragged him into the elevator and they started going down. After holding his anger back to be polite to the gods, Nico was absolutely shaking with rage. The time in the chariot hadn't helped him calm down at all. They got in the chariot to go back, but they hadn't been flying for two minutes when Nico said, "Put us down there."

They landed in Central Park. As late as it was, there was no one around. Nico turned to face Will.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through?" Nico asked Will. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? Not to mention I had to SHADOW TRAVEL a couple hundred miles because YOU pushed me out of the freaking CHARIOT!" His voice was starting to rise in anger. Will opened his mouth, but Nico cut him off. "No! You can talk when I'm done! I am so freaking mad at you! You were yelling at me about being reckless, but you took off with the freaking PRIMA MATERIA! Stuff that could freaking DESTROY THE WORLD! What in HADES were you THINKING!?"

"I'm sorry," Will raised his hands apologetically. "But the last thing I really remember is Chiron saying that we had to get rid of the stuff. Everything after that is kind of a blur. I pushed you out of the chariot?"

"Yeah, and left me at the top of a freaking SKYSCRAPER!" Nico was still shouting, but he was starting to calm down, and tears were starting to form in place of fury. The rational part of his brain was getting louder, reminding him that it wasn't entirely Will's fault.

"It's Will," that part of his brain said. "Would Will ever hurt you on purpose?"

"No," Nico thought back at that part of his brain, which was annoyingly right. "But he did something really stupid and he could have gotten a lot of people killed."

"But he didn't, and he never meant to do anything to scare you," his brain reminded him.

"Nico," Will interrupted Nico's argument with himself.

"Yeah?"

"I really am sorry, especially if I hurt you," Will said, his eyes downcast. "I'm sure I didn't mean to, even if I can't remember it."

"I…" And all of a sudden, Nico was sobbing, all of his anger turned to frustration.

"Nico!" Will took a step forward, then stopped himself, as if unsure. Unable to help himself, Nico ran forward until he was wrapped in Will's arms, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Will murmured as he rubbed Nico's back. "Do you hate me now? Do you want me to leave?"

"N-no, but I…" Nico was crying too hard to form words. "I c-can't stop c-crying!"

"Hang on," Will lifted Nico's head and laid his wrist against Nico's forehead. "Damn, you're burning up! How much did you shadow travel?"

"W-we were in W-West Virginia," Nico cried. It showed no signs of stopping.

"You don't happen to cry when you're sick, do you?" Will asked.

"I-I don't…"

"Never mind, we have to get you home," Will said, scooping Nico up. He laid Nico gently in the chariot as he stepped up on it. Nico was feeling a little delirious, and still crying, but he thought Will was pushing the horses as fast as they would go.

Will picked Nico up to take him into the infirmary. They ran into Chiron on the way in.

"Will…Nico!" Chiron gasped. "What happened to him?"

"Sick," Will replied, trying to get the infirmary door. "I've got him."

Austin was in the infirmary when Will walked in with Nico, reading a book.

"Will, what…?"

"I've got him," Will repeated. "You can go home, if you want. I'll be here."

Austin nodded and cleared out. Will put Nico down on a bed. His sobbing was finally slowing down, but he wasn't feeling much better.

"Will…everything hurts…my head, and my arms, and my legs…"

"I know, angel," Will said sadly. "Looks like you've got some nasty virus, maybe the flu. It doesn't feel like bacteria, so unfortunately the only thing we can do is wait it out."

"Ambrosia…?"

"Even if you hadn't had too much of it recently, there isn't much it would do. Ambrosia doesn't do much against viruses."

Will put a cold compress on Nico's forehead, and Nico felt a little better. Then Will held up a cup with a straw poking out of it.

"Try to drink a little," Will advised. Nico took a weak pull at the straw. It was apple juice.

"What am I…supposed to do now?" Nico asked brokenly.

"Try to sleep it off, angel," Will told him. "That's the only thing you can do now."

So Nico fell into a fitful sleep, haunted by fevered dreams and thirst, that lasted through the night.


	7. Chapter 7

Nico woke up to sunshine streaming in through the windows. It was late afternoon. He still felt achy, and his throat was completely dry, but he didn't feel as horrible as he had yesterday.

Will sat beside him, eyes closed. His hand was resting a few inches from Nico's head, as if he had been stroking Nico's hair in his sleep. Nico tried to sit up.

Will jostled awake, looking around in confusion for a minute before glancing down at Nico. He bit his lip.

"How much trouble am I in?" he asked quietly. To stall for time, Nico grabbed a water bottle that was sitting by the bed and chugged half of it.

"Not as much as you think," Nico replied finally. "I know it wasn't all your fault. That stuff got inside your mind. I should have noticed it sooner, you were acting really weird."

"Did I hurt you at all?" Will asked. "When I pushed you out of the chariot…?"

"Oh…Oh!" Nico exclaimed. "You stopped on top of a building when you did that, it's not like you pushed me out while we were flying."

"Thank the gods," Will sighed. "Nico, I am so, so sorry. I never meant any of it. I know I scared you, and you have every right to be mad at me. Do you want me to go? I can get one of my siblings to look after you."

"No. Stay," Nico said. "I'm too tired and I feel too crappy to stay mad at you. Want to call it even for me being reckless and falling through the ice?"

"I guess that's fair," Will nodded. "I think there might be a bigger problem here, though."

"Like what?"

"Like a relationship problem," Will said. "This might be the first time we've had a real fight. All our bickering doesn't count," he added as Nico opened his mouth. "That's kind of all in good fun, and we never mean it that seriously. But this…we broke each other's trust, and I think we need to talk about it."

"I've never been that mad at you before," Nico admitted. "I was afraid…my fatal flaw is holding grudges, I didn't want to be tuck holding a grudge against you."

"Are you?"

"I don't think so," Nico told him. "I feel like I've forgiven you all the way. But you're right, I don't think our relationship is the same as it was before."

"We both thought we were going to lose each other," Will said. "I don't think there was any way our relationship could be the same, even if we hadn't both done stupid things to get there. Question is, though, do you want to keep it going?"

"Of course I do!" Nico shot back. "Our relationship was never going to be the same as it was when we first started dating. It was changing already. It just changed really fast this time. But people fight, and they still stay together. We can get through this, right?"

"I was really hoping you'd say that," Will sighed in relief. "Still, I think we need a few ground rules so that this doesn't happen again."

"Like what?"

"Like, if we're given a specific quest objective, like taking something to Mount Olympus, we follow it no matter what."

"And we listen to each other, even if we don't want to, because if we don't want to we're probably being too stubborn."

"And no putting ourselves in harm's way trying to be overprotective."

"Well…"

"I understand a battle situation," Will cut him off. "But taking extra ambrosia and putting yourself at risk just because you think I can't take care of myself…no more of that, okay?"

"Okay. How about I promise to stop being so overprotective, and you promise not to go against quest orders, and we'll call it square?"

"And jointly promise to listen to each other whether we want to or not?"

"Yeah, that too."

"Okay," Will said. "Ground rules established. Are we good?"

"Yeah, I guess we are," Nico agreed before dissolving into a coughing fit. "What's wrong with me?" he asked after it finally stopped.

"Near as I can guess, you have viral pneumonia," Will told him. "Probably started from you falling through the ice, but made much worse by all the shadow travelling. You're definitely staying for at least a week. This could be contagious, and it'll take a while to shake off."

"If it's contagious, shouldn't you get away?"

"Son of Apollo, remember? We have a lot of immunity. I'll be fine."

"And I'm not getting tortured while I'm here, am I?"

"No, you're not. I told you, we're even."

Nico ended up staying in the infirmary for a week and a half, pretty much on bed rest. Will was extra attentive for the first couple of days, probably because he still felt bad, but eventually he calmed down when he realized that Nico really wasn't mad at him anymore. When he finally announced that Nico was better enough to leave, Nico jumped up. He had gotten tired of sitting around all day.

"And no more Underworld magic. I mean it, angel," Will warned.

"I heard you the first seven times, sunshine," Nico groaned.

"How are you feeling?" Will asked.

"Better. Much. Don't worry, I'll be back to normal before you know it."

It was almost time for campfire, and they were headed down to it. Will cautiously slipped his hand into Nico's. Nico let him, and squeezed back to let him know it was okay. Just before they went to sit down, Nico stretched up and gave Will a quick kiss on the cheek. Both blushing, they hurried to sit down.

They ended up sitting across the campfire from each other. They sang along and participated, but kept meeting each other's eyes. Regardless of how they had gotten there, they had both survived dying on this quest, and something about that and how they kept looking at each other let the other know that it was on, soon as campfire was over.

And soon enough, it was. Nico started walking to his cabin, with a glance over his shoulder to let Will know to follow him. Will got the message, and soon they were standing in front of the Hades cabin. Nico opened the door, but before he was even done closing it, Will had pinned him against it, kissing him fiercely. Nico kissed back just as hard with a moan. Will slid his hands under Nico's thighs to pick him up and pressed him harder into the door. Nico gasped. Will had never done this before. He clung to Will's shoulders and pulled him closer.

Will pulled the collar of Nico's shirt aside and kissed down his neck to his collarbone. He kissed back up and bit gently on Nico's ear. Nico gave a startled cry before he could stop himself. Will laughed and returned to Nico's mouth.

"Sunshine…bed," Nico choked out between kisses. Will moaned on Nico's mouth and swung back to the bed. He fell on top of Nico, but Nico twisted so that he was straddling Will's waist. If Will wanted to play like this, Nico could do the same.

He pulled at the hem of Will's shirt, and Will tossed it to the floor. He kissed down Will's neck and onto his chest, before reaching one of Will's nipples and cautiously reaching out his tongue to lick it. Will jumped and bucked his hips under Nico's. Nico smirked and continued with what he was doing, reaching up a hand to pinch Will's other nipple.

"Damn, angel, where'd you learn to do that?" Will gasped, his hand tangled in Nico's hair. Nico just worked his way back up and kissed Will hard, their tongues intertwining. Will sat up and pulled off Nico's shirt. Nico linked his arms behind Will's neck and kissed him again. He pushed Will down and started kissing down Will's chest. Undoing the button and zipper of Will's pants, he pulled them down, bobbing his head down to take Will in his mouth. Will gasped. Usually he was the one doing this, not Nico, but Nico was feeling adventurous.

Will cried out when he came in Nico's mouth. Not entirely sure what to do, Nico swallowed, wiping his hand across his mouth as he came back up to straddle Will's hips again.

"Damn, angel," Will said again. Without warning he flipped them so he was pinning Nico down. Nico barely had time to register this as Will started kissing down his neck. When Will reached his shoulder, he bit down, hard. Nico gasped but clung tighter to Will.

"Harder," he pleaded. Will laughed and bit down harder, almost enough to break the skin, as he reached into Nico's pants to start stroking him. Nico moaned and bucked his hips against Will's. Will pulled Nico's pants and boxers down the rest of the way.

"Want to go all the way?" Will asked. Nico moaned and nodded. Will reached to Nico's bedside table, where a box of condoms and a bottle of lube were stashed. Pulling down his own pants and rolling on a condom, Will squirted some lube into his hand and rubbed against Nico's entrance.

"Damn it, sunshine, let's go!" Nico gasped. Will smirked as he pushed a finger in, then added another.

"Ready for this?" Will asked.

"Wait…it works this way?" Nico asked. They had never done it face to face.

"I bet it does," Will replied. "Want to find out?"

Nico nodded. Will lined himself up and pushed in. Nico cried out. It didn't hurt, but it felt different from the different position. Will hooked his arms under Nico's knees and started to thrust. Nico moaned louder. This felt different, this felt…incredible. He opened his eyes to meet Will's, burning bright. Will leaned forward to kiss him hard. Nico bit Will's bottom lip, and Will smirked against Nico's mouth. They kissed hard as Will thrust faster, reaching a hand down to stroke Nico. Nico felt tears rise in his eyes, it felt so good.

They both moaned loudly when they came at the same time. Will rolled off Nico so that they ended up on their sides, facing each other.

"I love you, angel," Will panted.

"I love you too," Nico replied, just as winded. "What…what was that?"

"I don't know, but it was kind of awesome, and I mean that in every sense of the word," Will grinned. Nico smiled sleepily. He cuddled up to Will.

"Stay the night?"

"Of course."

The two boys fell asleep, snuggled against each other, arms intertwined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all, folks. Thanks for sticking with it!


End file.
